Lies
by briA135
Summary: My name is Elena Gilbert, and this is how I became the most enviable person at my school, through makeovers, parties, boyfriends, and most importantly: Lies. BETTER SUMMARY INSIDE!
1. Chapter 1

Summary: I used to be an average girl, average grades, average looks, zero fun. The only difference from me to the life of a rock was that I was best friends with the most popular guy in school. Then he moved, and. I wanted more, I wanted a life. I would have done anything for just some sort of excitement in my life, so the day I set my eyes on the grand doors they call high school, that's exactly what I got, excitement. My name is Elena Gilbert, and this is how I became the most enviable person at my school, through makeovers, parties, boyfriends, and most importantly, lies.

**A/N: here's the updated chapter guys!**

EIGHTH GRADE GRADUATION:

I slowly walked past the rows of navy. My peers tugged and pulled at their hideous robes, while the teachers made sure the navy balloons and navy streamers hung perfectly throughout the gym. Currently, the room was filled with the teary-eyes of navy-attired parents capturing every moment of their fourteen-year-olds graduation from middle school. My home room was just called up to receive our diplomas. Correction, our _navy_ diplomas.

"Seriously?" I muttered under my breath. Just because our school color is navy doesn't mean the entire school and everyone in it has to look like smurfs. I rolled my eyes as I watched my class slowly being called up to receive our diplomas on the moveable stage of our gymnasium. Caroline Forbes, a popular, spunky blonde that I've known since I was born, was strutting up the stage over to the principal.

"...Elena Gilbert..." My balding, slightly chubby principal spoke into the microphone. I made my way over to the podium where all the staff sat behind, willing myself not to fall flat on my face. I heard cat-calls coming from my little brother, Jeremy, and aunt, who has been taking care of him and I for the past couple years. My aunt and brother weren't my only catcallers, however. I could hear the sound of the Salvatore's, who were practically my second family, from where I stood, blushing and awkward on the stage. Stefan, who was a year younger than me, and his father, Giuseppe, were standing next to my family in the stands and howling. The loudest of them all, though, was my best friend, Damon Salvatore, who already had received his diploma, and was sitting by his football friends, completely disregarding the strict rules that we must be in our assigned seats the entire three hours we were forced to be here for. But that was Damon, he did whatever he wanted and got away with it by just lowering his eyes and giving his all too famous smirk. Damon was the epitome of charm.

I grabbed the diploma, ignoring Damon, who was standing on top his chair at the moment, screaming my name at that top of his lungs, and shook the principal's hand. Mid-shake, we turned, smiled, and heard the snap of a camera, and then I walked off the stage. As I made my way around the gymnasium, I managed to avoid tripping over the feet and decorations that littered the floor. When I got back to my assigned row, I sat down and endured the next hour of graduates being called in silence. After the last name was called out, all the eighth graders stood up and cheered. I turned my back on the stage, looking for Damon in the crowd. Once I found him already making his way towards me, I smiled broadly.

"We're finally done with this place!" He yelled, pulling me into a hug. I giggled, hugging him back and letting the post-graduation emotions take over.

"Yeah, and all we have left now is four more years of high school." I replied, reminding him that us graduation meant moving on to bigger and better things, or, Damon's case, more hell.

He groaned, pulling away from me to look at me properly. I watched as his blue eyes twinkled, something he always did when he was extremely happy, and said, "Yes, but we also have two months of freedom!" He threw his hands up in the air again and repeated himself again, louder, for everyone to hear, until he received many hollers of agreement back at him.

I pulled his hands down, still giggling, "Okay, okay, calm down, Damon. You're going to hit someone with those football arms."

He smirked at me, "Why, Elena, are you trying to flirt with me by complimenting my awesome biceps." I rolled my eyes at him.

However, before I could make a retort, I felt myself being pulled into a hug. I could recognize that auburn hair anywhere.

"Jenna!" I yelled, hugging her back. Stefan and Jeremy, who were both the same age, trailed behind her, laughing. Giuseppe, who just finished giving Damon a pat on the back, turned towards me and brought me into yet another embrace.

"Congrats, Elena." He whispered in a fatherly tone. Truthfully, after what happened to my parents a few years back, Giuseppe had taken the role of Jeremy and I's father figure. He pulled away, giving the same smirk I have come to know so well from Damon. "Now, let's all go off to get something to eat. I'm sure you and Damon are planning on going somewhere later, so I would prefer we talk now."

"There's nothing to talk about, dad." Damon snapped, a dark look crossing his face.

"Why so sassy, Damon?" I giggled, waiting for his mood to lighten or until he at least went into his usual pout, the one for when he didn't get what he wanted from his father, which was pretty often, but as the seconds ticked by, his face stayed dark. Usually, if Damon were to act this way, it was because his father had grounded him. His father was the only one that Damon ever took "no" seriously from, but that didn't keep them from being close. But now that I thought about it, Damon and his father haven't been interacting well, lately. I just assumed it was because Giuseppe hadn't allowed him to go to one of the numerous parties being thrown tonight, but looking at both of their tense faces, I doubted that was the cause.

"Nothing. Damon is just upset about not being able to hang out with his friends tonight." Giuseppe responded, giving Damon a look filled with pure annoyance.

"No. That's not it. Why don't you just tell them now. About how were moving. I mean that's what you wanted to talk about right?" Damon spat out. I gripped his arm, trying to process his words.

Damon? Moving? No. No, no, no, no. He couldn't be moving. He was the only person that kept me from dying of boredom. The only person I could go to when I was upset. The only person in the world who knew me better than I did. He was my best friend. It's been Damon and I since we were just two years old, and we did everything together, we're practically the same person. No, this isn't real. Without Damon, I was nothing.

"Moving?" I hear Jenna whisper from somewhere next to me, pulling me out of my own thoughts, "Giuseppe, is he serious?"

Giuseppe Salvatore gave a long, tortured sigh, turning away from all of us. His eyes scanned the waves of navy, and spoke softly, "Yes. I got a job at a hospital in Chicago as head of the ER, and you know how big of an opportunity it is. I had to take it. So, we're moving."

"When?" I muttered without thinking. Everything was blurring together.

His eyes flickered towards me, and then to my death grip on Damon's arm. "Tomorrow."


	2. Chapter 2

Lies:

briA135

_**A/N: Thank you again to everyone who reviewed! I should be updating every week or so… but maybe not so often for the next two weeks, because of FINALS. Kill me. Anyways, there won't be much of Damon for the next… couple of chapters… I won't tell you how much, because I want you to read ALL the chapters not just the ones with Damon. Even though he is amazing. But he is in this one, so don't worry! For now, I'm focusing more on the new "high school" Elena, so ENJOY! **_

_**Also, if you were wondering about Elena's parents, they DID NOT die a car accident in this story. I wanted to change the plot a little, but I promise you'll find out what happened to them… soon!**_

_**DISCLAIMERS: I do not own anything from the Vampire Diaries.**_

THE NEXT DAY:

Damon found me watching the leaves of the giant oak tree above sway from the early summer breeze. Occasionally, one of the frailer leaves would spring itself off the dark branches if the breeze blew a little harder. I always came here at this exact spot, lying next to the trunk of the tree that me and my father planted years before. My father told me that dewy spring morning that whenever I was stressed, or just needed to think, to come to this tree, breathe, and think of him. The tree had become my sanctuary; the place I would come to reflect, get ready to begin a new day. A fresh start.

And Damon knew that I did this. He was the only other person I would allow under the tree. It was too private, too personal, to share with anyone else. It was something that was purely my father. Damon was the only one I cared and trusted enough to even look at the tree, let alone lie right under it, next to me, like he was doing at the moment.

Yes, I know. I was possessive of a tree.

After a few moments of silence, Damon sighed and rested his hands up above his head. "It's peaceful here, isn't it?" I asked quietly, letting the warmth of the sun fill me. I turned towards him, gazing at his features. Even though he believes that he has surpassed puberty and is a full man, you could still see the boyish feature on his face. His face still had the slight chubbiness left from childhood, and his facial expression was so innocent. His eyes were lightly closed, hiding his deep blue eyes that I always loved, but when he felt my gaze, he opened one.

"Yeah, it would be, if it wasn't so God damn wet." He smirked, shutting his eyes again, "And stop staring. It's creepy."

I kept a straight face and replied, "I can't help it your so hot, Damon." I held my silence for a few more seconds, and watched as Damon's eyes flew open, a strange expression crossing features.

"Seriously?" He probed, bewilderment flashing through his eyes. When I burst out laughing, he groaned covering his face, "You're so mean to me sometimes, Elena."

"I'm so sorry! I just had, too!" I managed to apologize between giggles. After I calmed down, I looked back at his amused face, "Are you done laughing at my incredibly good looks?" He gave me a little wink.

I suppressed a giggle, smiling broadly, "Honestly, I'm done. Anyways, how could you possibly _ever_ believe that I would call you hot? You're so gullible ever since Katherine's been throwing herself all over you."

He groaned once again, "Oh, no. Please don't bring _her_ up. She and all her friends are just so annoying. They're all over me _all the time._" He shook his head, disgusted, with his dark brown hair moving with him.

"You're such a guy, Damon. You think every girl in the world is all over you."

"Yes, but this time it's true. They stare at me like I'm something to eat. I mean I am super-_hot._ And don't worry; I'm telling people that you fell down on your knees shouting out your love and attraction for me for the entire world to see." He gave me a mischievous grin, and which led me to believe he wasn't kidding.

"Damon, I swear, if you try and spread a rumor about me, I will come find you and then shove you in front of a bus. Or slap on some headphones with Justin Bieber's whole album playing." I threatened him seriously.

His eyes widened, "You would not make me listen to that girl again."

I pulled out my iPod, dangling the threat in front of his face, "Oh, wouldn't I?" I pulled myself up onto my knees and stared at him seriously, "As long as you don't spread _another_ rumor about me being madly in love with you, you never have to endure another Justin Bieber song again, even though I know how much you secretly love him."

He sighed in defeat, ignoring my last comment, "Fine." His eyes lit up a second later, though, "Anyways, Katherine or Caroline will probably just end up spreading a rumor like it for me."

I pouted, flinging myself back on the ground, arms and legs sprawled out, "Don't remind me."

He laughed, smiling, "Man, if there is anything that I won't miss back her in Mystic Fall's, it's Katherine and her mob." His amused expression disappeared though when he realized what he said. _Moving._ I had almost forgotten the fact that my best friend in the whole world, including the other two Salvatore's, are leaving Mystic Falls. _Leaving me._ "That reminds me," I heard his voice say, snapping me back to reality. He sounded much more… depressed than he did just seconds before. He stood up, grabbing my hand and pulling me with him. I gave him a quizzical look as he placed both his hands on my shoulders, "Elena, I promise that I will visit you, Jenna and Jeremy whenever I possibly can, but in return, I want you to do me a favor." His eyes were intent on my face, taking my every little emotion in. I wasn't used to this intense side of him, "Never, ever, ever turn out like the other girls in our grade. I don't think I could ever come back and visit you if you did."

I rolled my eyes at him, cracking a little smile, "I promise, Damon." We heard Giuseppe calling for him from my front yard. He must have dropped Damon off so he could say his last words to me. I breathed out, and looked at him, trying to take everything it. The tears that I've been fighting ever since yesterday were fighting to escape. "You promise this won't be the last I see you, right?"

He gave his famous smirk, "I swear that this won't be the last time you see me, Elena. You can't get rid of your best friend that easily." His smirk faltered though, and soon after he raised his hand to brush the tears that were running down my eyes. I never even noticed I was crying. "So I guess this it, huh?" He sighed, pulled me into a tight hug, and stayed we stayed like that for a few moments.

I was gripping his shoulders, controlling the urge to break down and start bawling, "I'm going to miss you."

"Me too." He replied sadly. That's when he pulled out of the hug. I followed him as he began to walk over to the door leading to the inside of my house. Once inside, we walked straight through the kitchen, out the door, and over to the sleek black Audi, with Stefan and Giuseppe being hugged by Jeremy and Jenna.

Once Damon and I reached them, I was embraced by Stefan, and then Giuseppe.

"Take care, Miss Gilbert." I heard his rough voice say in my ear. I nodded, replying with a weak "I will," afraid that if I go any louder my voice would surely crack. I stepped back over to Jenna, letting her arms fall lightly over my shoulders, and watched as the entire Salvatore family climbed into the car. Damon was peering out the driver's side look, regret etched all over his face. I couldn't possibly understand why though. _He_ was Damon. He was going to go off to Chicago become the football star of his school and forget all about his life here. Forgetting about _me. _As much as I wanted to believe he'd visit, I knew him better than anyone else. I wished Damon would always consider me as his best friend, but I never knew if we actually were. I always felt like I cared the most, like he just was friends with me because he could. I was just a nobody in our town, and he was definitely a somebody. And anyways, it's not like Damon ever _needed _to come back here. Mystic Falls will always just be a speck of nothing in the great life of Damon Salvatore. He couldn't possible find anything important enough to come back here for. I looked into his deep blue eyes for what I believed to be the last time, I saw something. Something that told me maybe there was something he was leaving behind here. But before I could figure out exactly what that something was, Giuseppe pulled into revers, ready to drive away. I picked up my hand, gave a weak wave, and watched as Damon Salvatore drove out of Mystic Falls and out of my life. Forever. Or at least that's what I thought.

As I watched the black car hum away and turn the street and out of sight, I let the tears drip freely. I looked out over the horizon and at the trees, trying to come to some sort of understanding with what happened in the last day. Damon was gone. And I had nothing. I watched the bird fly by, waiting for something, _anything_. Just something for me to say, "Oh, I know what I'm going to do with the rest of my life!"

That's when Katherine Pierce, Caroline Forbes, Bonnie Bennett, Andy Starr and every other popular girl in my tiny little town drove down the street in their convertible, blasting some obscene pop song that Damon and I used to make fun of. They were laughing and dancing in the seats, while a tiny, petite suburban mom drove them. They looked as if they had no care in the world, which they probably didn't besides the issue of which outfit they should wear tomorrow. The drove away, and then I realized, ignoring the warning Damon had given me earlier. _It's not like he's going to be keeping his side of the bargain_, I thought. I knew exactly what I wanted.

And what I wanted to do for the rest of my life is not care.

_**A/N: Soo! I hoped you liked it! It took me a while to write and sorry if it wasn't too long! I'm pretty happy that I got this done in such a short time though. Anyways, next chapter there is going to be a huge time jump. And by huge I mean pretty freaking big. Well, just four years. So before that chapter comes, PLEASE REVIEW AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THOUGHT!**_


	3. Chapter 3

Lies:

briA135

_**A/N: So here comes the time jump! Okay, so Elena is going to act… well a little bitchy throughout the next couple of chapters, but bear with me! She isn't really that way. I hope you enjoy it anyways!**_

_**P.S. They're might be some language in this chapter… **_

_**DISCLAIMERS: I don't own the Vampire Diaries, even though I wish I did so we didn't have to wait a full week to find out where this Delena kiss is going…**_

FOUR YEARS LATER:

"Elena, get your ass over to this party, _now._" I heard my friend Katherine scream out of my iPhone. Well, friend wasn't the correct word to describe Katherine. She was more of an… obligation. Sure, the other girls we hung out with, Rebekah, Bonnie, Isobel, Vicki, Andy, even _Caroline_ could be considered my friends, but that was only because they were all brainless cheerleaders. Well, all except for Bonnie. But Katherine… she and I always pretended to get along. In her case though, she probably thought we were the best of friends, or whatever Katherine calls the people she constantly spends her time with, but for me, things were different. Underneath all the friendly gestures and parties and shopping we did together… I couldn't stand her. She was pure evil. A total bitch. But I had to be her "friend," at least for a few more months until I leave this God forsaken town and go off to NYU for their creative writing program. If I didn't spend my time with Katherine, I wouldn't have what I have: Power. And ever since I was invited to my first party by Katherine back during Freshman year and saw all the other girls looks of disappointment when she completely ignored them, I realized that I liked the power Katherine gave me. Sadly for her, I eventually became even more enviable and popular than Katherine ever wished she could be.

"I'm driving over to the Lockwood's right now. Calm down." I repeated slowly, assured that she would be able to hear me with my phone on speaker. Before Katherine had gotten the nerve to call me for the fourth time in the past hour, I was trying to listen to some of the mainstream crap they always played over the radio, but I couldn't stomach the garbage. It was just so… repetitious. I don't know why I kept trying. Four years of listening to what Caroline always played in when driving in her cherry-red Convertible didn't make it grow on me; it just made me despise it even more.

"Well, I could _calm down_ if you weren't so freaking late. Mattie here has been getting a little lonely… maybe I should keep him company." She tried to purr seductively into the phone, but it just sounded like nails on a chalkboard to me.

"First of all Katherine, I was late because Jeremy took my car so he and Anna could go out. He didn't come back until like five minutes." I said eyeing the clock on my dashboard. It was 10:30 on a Saturday, two days before senior year would start for me at Mystic Falls High School. _School._ I mentally groaned. After the two months of freedom I almost forgot about that place.

"Ew, gross. What does your brother see in that girl? She's a total druggie." She replied. I rolled my eyes at the fact that I can honestly say that Katherine has experimented with drugs since I was there when she first tried smoking weed at a party sophomore year. Also to the fact that I trusted Jeremy enough to know his friends, Anna, Meredith, Elijah, and Alaric, were not off doing drugs. Though I've never really met any of them besides Anna, Jeremy seemed to like them a lot, so I could trust him with them. But Jeremy didn't feel the same of my friends. He mentioned, on several occasions, how much he hates them. He thinks they're a influencing me to do the things that I do to be on top; to act the way that I do at school, but they don't. _I_ act that way.

"I don't know, Katherine, she seems fine." I said, successful containing myself from all the things I wanted to tell her.

She gave a huff of disapproval, "Yeah, someone can act like they're good, but it doesn't mean their scummy on the inside." I couldn't help but give a tight laugh at the irony of her words, "What?" I heard her spit out.

"Oh, nothing," I started innocently, "I just thought of the outfit Andy was wearing earlier."

"Well, it was hideous. I mean, who wears _plaid _anymore?" She questioned. I looked down at the outfit I was wearing; a long purple plaid shirt with leggings and gladiators.

I guess I do.

"I don't know, but I'm like a block away from the party," I almost finished, about to hang up and then added quickly, "And by that I mean; _stay away from Matt._"

I hear Katherine laugh, which reminded me of a witch's cackle, and said, "Look who's being all possessive over her latest fling. God, Elena, you switch guys almost as fast as Caroline can talk." I did laugh at her wit for coming up with that one. It was true. Caroline did talk like everything she said was the most important thing in the world and I _did_ go out with a lot of guys. But that was because I needed to. You can never hang out with the same guy for long, because then you get hurt.

And, boy, did I have experience with that.

"Whatever, I'm here." I hung up on her, as I pulled a block away from the Lockwood mansion. Cars of all varieties were lining the block. I parked into the nearest parking spot I could, behind a black Volvo, and climbed out.

Walking over to the house, I managed to dodge all of the already wasted teenagers walking aimlessly around, screaming. As I walked up the steps, I was pulled into a hug by an apparently just-as-wasted-as-the-kids-outside Vicki Donovan.

"Elena!" She slurred, "I'm drunk."

I patted my back, "Yeah, now go away, Vicki." I watched as she let go and stumbled over to the nearest guy. I walked all throughout the house, spotting Katherine with Bonnie, Tyler Lockwood and Matt outside on the brick patio.

"Well, look who finally decided to show up." Katherine snorted, with a red plastic cup in her hand. _How cliché_, I thought. She tried handing me one, but I waved my hand to signal that I didn't want any. "Just drink it, Ms. I'm Too Stubborn to Have One Beer. It's the last party before we go back to school, so have fun."

I sighed, grabbed the cup and drowned it down, "There, happy?" I asked, raising my eyebrow at her.

She gave an evil smirk, "Extremely."

I rolled my eyes, taking in her too-short burgundy pencil skirt and white half-shirt that barely went to her belly button. Classic Katherine. I turned my attention over to Matt and Tyler who were talking animatedly about football, while Bonnie just sat there with a confused look.

"C'mon, Donovan, Tebow isn't that great." Tyler was saying, while Matt threw his hands up in the air, clearly exasperated.

"_Isn't that great?_ The Broncos wouldn't be going to the playoffs if it wasn't for him!" Tyler replied by shaking his head, about to open his mouth to say more, before Katherine silenced them.

"Boys, if you haven't realized, you're talking about football with girls around, so nobody gives a crap about what you're saying, let alone understands it." She put her hand on her hip and stared at them, waiting for our words of agreement.

"Actually, I like football, Katherine." I looked at Katherine, and then turned over to the boys, "And Matt's right. Tebow is the only reason the Broncos are in the playoffs." I then grabbed Matt's arm, waved bye to Bonnie, and pulled him inside the house. Once we got into a more secluded part of the house, which happened to be Mr. Lockwood, the mayor of Mystic Falls' office. I stopped and looked at him.

"I've been waiting for you." He said pulling me into an attempt at as a romantic hug, but still never felt anything with any guy. Well besides… "Elena." I heard Matt moan, kissing up my shoulder blade, interrupting my thoughts.

"How much have you drank?" I asked him, allowing him to kiss along my jaw, knowing fully well how touchy he gets when he's drunk.

He chuckled, "Only a couple of beers." I rolled my eyes and kissed him. We'd managed to find our way to a coach in that was over in the corner, and continued kissing for a few short minutes. That is until I took my shirt off and he stopped.

I sighed. "What is it, Matt?" I looked into his childish blue eyes that any other girl would find pretty, but I knew what real blue eye's looked like. How they sparkled and lit up when the owner of them was excited. How you could stare in them for miles and miles, getting lost.

If only I could see those blue eyes again.

"Well… I was wondering why you've never invited me over to meet your family." He asked sheepishly. That was the reason why I've been with Matt longer than most of the guys at my school. Here I was, topless, and he was wondering why he hasn't met my family. He was just so innocent.

I groaned, falling back onto the coach, "I told you. You wouldn't want to meet my aunt right now. She always gets upset around this time of year, because... you know why." I told him, only half-lying.

He nodded his head, unaware of the fact that he, and everyone else at my school was under the impression that my parents had died years ago in a car accident, but it was so much better than them knowing the truth of why I lived with my aunt. Jeremy hasn't even bothered to tell anyone of my lies, knowing fully well why I began them in the first place. I'm surprised Aunt Jenna hasn't even done anything about it, but I figured she was just so oblivious of the gossip around here, that she didn't even know.

"I guess, but I thought that since you're my girlfriend and all-" Matt started, staring at his hands, but I interrupted him.

"Matt…" I began, not wanting to break his heart like this, but I had to try and be honest with him. Well as honest as a liar can get, anyways. "I'm not your girlfriend. And I probably never will." I looked at him hoping he'd understand.

He peered up at me, his eyes full of sadness for a few seconds, but then they filled with hope, "That's okay, Elena. I can wait until you're ready." He tried to pull me into another kiss, but before he could, the door burst open.

Bonnie and Katherine walked in, looking around. "Thank God, we found you!" Bonnie sighed, while Katherine walked over to the window.

"What is it?" I asked, pulling on my shirt, and standing up.

Katherine turned around, "Sorry to interrupt this grope-fest, but the cops are outside. We need to go. Now."

"Shit." I growled. Katherine walked across the room again, grabbed me and Bonnie and pulled us out the door. She looked back at Matt and said, "Sorry, Donovan, everyone for themselves." We all sprinted down the hallway, over to a room all the way at the end. Luckily, I once had a thing with Tyler, so I knew how to sneak out of his house unnoticed. Once I slammed open the door to the room, I hear a loud scream from downstairs.

"Cops!" Someone yelled loudly.

"Damn it! They're already inside?" I heard Katherine whisper from beside me.

I motioned them to follow me across the carpeted room that Tyler slept in over to the window. I threw it open, climbed out of it, and skillfully made my way across his roof to a tree branch that was hanging closely next to the roof. Once on it, I made my way down, waited for Bonnie and Katherine to do the same and ran for it. Luckily, it was dark outside and we managed to get all the way down the block, and hid behind a tree.

"Where is the cop car?" I questioned looking around the pitch black neighborhood. It must've been almost midnight, and I was wondering if anyone else made it out of the house, but from the lack of teenagers hiding out on the street, I'm guessing most weren't so lucky.

"Down by Grant street." Katherine replied.

"Shit!" I groaned again for the second time today, "My car is parked there. What am I supposed to do?"

"I can drive you in the morning to come back and get it," Bonnie stood up and motioned us to do the same; "For now I guess you guys are coming with me."

Ten minutes later, we were driving in Bonnie's Convertible over past Wickery Bridge.

"I can't believe we got away." I let my head fall back against the headrest.

"I can't believe I had to see you shirtless." Katherine replied from the back seat, causing us to erupt into giggles.

"Hey, did someone finally move into that place?" Bonnie questioned, while stopped at a stop sign. She was looking over at the old Salvatore Boarding House, I place I avoided at all costs. It had been vacant for years, ever since the Salvatore's left, but I noticed what she was pointing at. There was a gray car parked outside the house.

"Either that, or someone is trying to rob the place." Katherine answered, uncaring. She began to demand that Bonnie start driving since she's been at the stoplight for so long, but just as she began to turn, a black Mustang swerved from are left side, invisible until then, almost hitting us. Bonnie stomped on the breaks, and put her hand on the horn, blaring at the driver. Whoever it was, stopped the car, just a few feet from us, clearly getting the message that we were pissed.

"What the hell!" I yelled, jumping out of the car. I shut the door, hearing Katherine snort, "Oh, look, Elena's on the prowl." Bonnie ignored her, getting out of the car, too. "Seriously? We're all getting out now?"

"Elena, just get back in the car. They were probably coming from the party, too." Bonnie tried to calm me down, but I wasn't having it. I was pissed off.

"I honestly couldn't care less if they were coming back from the damn party. That doesn't mean that they had to be driving like a freaking maniac!" I yelled, stomping over to the Mustang, and knocked on the tinted windows. I waited for the driver to roll his window down. When he did, I was given a cold, "What?"

And that is when I exploded. "What the hell, dude? You almost hit are damn car!" I threw my hands up in the air, as if asking the world why this guy was so reckless. "If the car was damaged in anyway, you sure as hell will be paying for-" I stopped, looking finally taking in the man who had witness my warpath.

He was handsome, clearly, and looked to be my age. I could tell, even in the darkness, that he was dressed in a leather jacket, and black pants. His hair looked like it just got out of bed, but since it was midnight, I highly doubted that. It wasn't this guy's looks that made me stop; it was the way his sexy lips curved into a strikingly familiar smirk. My body shut down. I couldn't think, I couldn't breathe. My eyes travelled slowly up his sharp features until I looked into his deep blue eyes. _No._

"Damon?"

_**A/N: CLIFFHANGER! So I realized that I couldn't even go one chapter without him, so he's back! I promise to update as soon as possible, but since it only took me a day to do this one, don't be expecting another for a few days! And, also, PLEASE REVIEW!**_


	4. Chapter 4

Lies:

briA135

_**A/N: Fourth chapter is heeeere! Hope you enjoy!**_

_**DISCLAIMERS: As usual, I do not own the Vampire Diaries, blah, blah, blah, L.J. Smith does. Okay? Good.**_

"Ugh!" I groaned, throwing my hands up in the air. I walked past Bonnie and Jeremy, who had been getting along quite well lately, over to the comfiest couch that I could find in my house. I plopped down, groaned again, got up and walked back into the kitchen, where my brother and friend happened to be, and went to raid the fridge.

"Is she going crazy or is it just her time of the month again?" I heard Jeremy whisper by the granite topped island in our kitchen.

Bonnie giggled, as I turned my head to face my obnoxious little brother, "Ha, ha. You're just so funny, Jer, it hurts." He flashed a smile, looked over at Bonnie and started whispering more.

After a few seconds they broke into laughing fits, so I just ignored them and turned my attention back to my open refrigerator. I grabbed a Ben & Jerry's container, a silver spoon from a drawer nearby, and pulled a chair over by Bonnie. Once I was comfortable, I ripped open the ice cream and dug in.

"Seriously, Elena, what is wrong with you? I don't think I've ever seen you eat a full tub of ice cream before." Jeremy asked seriously from across the island.

I sighed, throwing the spoon in the container, and rested back in the chair, "If you must know, yesterday, Bonnie, Katherine," Jeremy made a snorting noise, showing his hatred for Katherine, but I continued anyways, because of the fact that she wasn't my favorite person in the world either, especially after last night. "Bonnie, Katherine and I were driving home, and we happened to go past the old Salvatore boarding house and found out that someone is moving in there." I shut my eyes, trying to get the image of the bright blue-eyed, leather wearing, ex-best friend out of my head.

"Really?" Jeremy said sadly, most likely remembering the Salvatore's, too.

"Mhm, but she's leaving out the best part." Bonnie started. I opened my eyes, and gave her a pointed look, as if daring her to continue, "This guy who was racing down the street in this really nice Mustang almost hit us at the corner, so Elena got out of the car and went to tell the dude off, that is until he rolled down and her window and bam!" Bonnie threw her hands on the table for extra effect, "Damon Salvatore, who no one has heard a word from since eighth grade, is _right there._" She nodded her head to Jeremy, who had a look of pure shock on his face.

"_Damon?_ Does that mean they're moving back here? Did they buy his old house?" He questioned the two of us, but luckily enough for me; Bonnie took charge once again and answered.

"We didn't find out, because _Elena_," She looked over to me and raised her eyebrows, "after a couple seconds of shock, just turned around, pulled us into the car and we drove away."

Jeremy just stared at me, "_Elena? Speechless?_" He was just as shocked as Bonnie had been the night before.

I groaned for the millionth time, "I didn't know what to say! He hasn't talked to me in four years! _Four years!_ Was I supposed to throw my arms around him and throw a party? If anything I could have punched him in the face for being such a douchebag for not having the decency to even pick up a phone and call me!" I ranted at them.

I would have continued, but Jenna had walked in the door with a huge smile on her face, "You'll never guess who I just ran into at the Grill!" She exclaimed, throwing a few shopping bags on the oak kitchen table.

"Wow, Jenna! Looks like your cutting down when it comes to your Sunday Shopping Sprees." I was genuinely shocked. Usually, on Sundays like today, Jenna would come home with more clothes then a department store. As a matter of fact, the only way you could even see Jenna on a Sunday is if you saw her in a store or went shopping, which I tried once in sixth grade. Twelve hours of nonstop walking around. It was torture. So for her to be home so early, she must have run into someone really important that she would skip the rest of a day that was meant for shopping to come home and tell us, and I could already guess that that 'someone' was a Salvatore.

"Yes, I know, I know, but seriously! I ran into _Giuseppe Salvatore!_ Can you believe it? We didn't have enough time to catch up, but he said that they're all moving back into the boarding house and their furniture hadn't arrived yet, so I decided to invite them over for dinner! They'll all be over at six!" She went over to the fridge and began assembling ingredients for what I guessed to be our dinner.

"You did _what?_" I yelled, getting to my feet. Jenna jumped, while Bonnie and Jeremy just snickered from behind me.

"What's wrong? I thought you and Jeremy would be happy that Damon and Stefan are back!" She looked over at Jeremy and Bonnie for support to my sudden freak out, but they just raised their hands up, too show that they had no idea why I was going crazy.

I put my hands on my hip and frowned, trying to think of a reasonable excuse for not wanting them to come over, instead of the real reason being that I couldn't stand to see Damon's charming smirk again. A chime came from my phone in my pocket, signaling a new text message. I pulled it out, and saw that it was from Katherine who had plans for Bonnie, Matt, Caroline, Klaus and I to hang out at the Grill. For once in my life; I am thanking God that Katherine texted me. "I can't, actually. Bonnie and I already have plans to go to the Grill. Sorry."

Jenna just rolled her eyes at me, "Elena, you haven't seen Damon and Stefan in four years. You can hang out with your friends any other time!" She obviously didn't get that I didn't want to be within a ten mile radius of the Salvatore's, namely Damon.

"No, I can't! It's Klaus's birthday!" I lied. Well, I wasn't _fully_ lying. His birthday was next month… I think.

She shook her head at me, "Okay, fine, Elena. You can hang out with your friends." I breathed out, relieved, "But only after you have dinner with us." Her face lit up at her cleverness.

"Looks like I'm going to have to be the one to face Katherine when I tell her you're going to be late." Bonnie said sadly, but I was to upset with my aunt to acknowledge her.

"Erg!" I yelled, stomping all the way upstairs to my bedroom. I walked past my oak dresser, which was decorated with pictures of Katherine, Bonnie, Caroline at football games and parties, Jeremy and I at the Grill, celebrating Jenna's 28th birthday last year, and pictures of me with my various flings over the years. Besides the pictures that covered the frame that held the giant mirror in place, I had makeup, clothes, and cheerleading awards, thrown across the top. Before high school, my dresser and room was filled with pictures of the mother and father I barely got to know, journals that I wrote in every day, my favorite books, and the only pictures you would see were the ones of Damon and I, with the occasional Jeremy or Stefan. But after he and his family had moved, I threw all of it into the garbage, as a symbol for me starting me new life.

I had ignored the dresser though, which wasn't the only thing that had showed how much I have changed in the past couple of years. Where a faded picture of a horse my father had painted a long time ago once hung over my bed, a giant framed picture of my cheerleading team at state had been its replacement. All the posters of the Bob Marley, the Rolling Stones, the Beatles which had been mine, and Damon's, favorite artists, no longer covered my tan walls. Instead, hooks for purses, high heels and boots lined the walls. I was a completely different person. And Damon being back isn't going to change me.

I flung myself onto my purple comforter that topped my full sized bed. I brought my hands up to my face, trying to calm my irrational nerves. How come when I saw Damon I couldn't say anything? Was it because when he left Mystic Falls, he really _left?_ He didn't call. He didn't text, granted at that time I didn't even have a cell phone, but he could have emailed, or wrote, or had contacted me in some way. _Any way._ I had told myself that summer day, years ago, that he was leaving my life for good, but there had always been a part of me that believe, _hoped_, he would find some way to visit, but as the days turned to weeks and the weeks turned to months, I started losing hope.

I needed to do something, _anything_, to get my mind off of Damon. The way he smirked at me last night, the way his eyes lit up when they saw me, or at least that's what I told myself.

I groaned, shaking my head, as if trying to shake the all-consuming thoughts of Damon away. Rolling over on my bed, I brought my hand to the drawer of my night stand and pulled at a worn out, leather journal and pen. I haven't wrote in my journal in _ages,_ but when I brought the pen down to the crisp paper, and started writing out my thoughts, I remembered why I had loved it so much. It helped clear my mind. _Dear Diary_, I began to write;

_So much has happened to me since the last time I wrote you. I have new friends, new clothes, a new look. I am popular. But now Damon is back, and I can't stand seeing him. Seeing him will only make me think of the old me, the one he left behind in the dust. I feel as if I have to prove to him and to myself, that he isn't my best friend anymore. That I'm not just "Damon's Friend," the name that people referred to me back in middle school._

_I am Elena Gilbert. The girl that everyone wished they were and wishes they were with. _

_I back when I told myself if I ever thought that, let alone write it down in my diary, I need to be punched in the face. It's not that I'm being conceded, Diary. Okay… I'm being conceded, but I am only saying that because I want Damon to believe it. And he is going to believe it by the time this dinner is over._

_Love, _

_The New Elena Gilbert_

The ring of our doorbell went throughout the house, as I pulled on the brown gladiators and a brown belt, which accented my white laced, three-quarter sleeved, short dress perfectly. My brown hair was curled to frame my covered-in-the-lightest-of-makeup face. I was quite pleased with what I could pull off in only on hour of preparation time. I was dressing up like this to leave an impression.

"Elena, Jeremy! The Salvatore's are here, so get your butts down here!" I heard Jenna yell up to us. I walked over to the door to find Jeremy standing outside the hallway, waiting.

"Yes?" I questioned him, crossing my arms across my chest.

He threw his hands up, defensively, "Hey, I was just being brotherly by waiting for you before I go down, but if you're going to give me sass, I can just push you down the stairs."

I couldn't help but smile, "Let's go, before the urge to punch you overwhelms me." He grabbed my arm and pulled me down the stairs. No one was by the door, so I assumed that Jenna had already ushered them into the living room, and sure enough, when Jeremy and I walked into our lit up living room, there they were.

Our living room, which consisted of two couches, a wooden coffee table in front of our flat-screen television, and multiple portraits of the Gilbert family, was occupied by four people. Giuseppe was seated on our tan couch, wearing a clean cut black suit, while Jenna began pouring a drink for him at the coffee table. I looked over towards our leather couch, near the end of the room, where a young man I assumed to be Stefan sat. Although the Stefan I remember didn't look like the one sitting in my living room now. He was wearing a gray V-Neck, and dark jeans, while his auburn hair was curled handsomely, framing his chiseled features. I could barely recognize him from the twelve-year-old that I had last seen him as. But as I placed my eyes upon the even more handsome brother who was leaning casually against the same couch, I realized that Damon has changed even more. The innocent, slightly-chubby face I remember was replaced by a hard, defined one. He was wearing a black leather jacket, black pants, and black shoes. _He certainly grew out of the football jerseys and Nike's he used to wear,_ I thought.

"Well, well." Giuseppe's familiar voice ran out, when they all caught our attention. I quickly looked away from Damon, back over to his father. Giuseppe was smiling, but it didn't look too genuine, "Look at you two! You've both grown so much!"

"Well, that's what people do in four years." I replied, snarkily, causing Jenna to scowl at me.

"Sorry about Elena." Jenna stepped in, "She's a lot sassier than she used to be. Sometimes she's harder to control than Charlie Sheen." She joked. Jeremy happened to find it hilarious. He started laughing so hard, I thought he was about to die.

I slapped him in the shoulder, "Sorry about Jeremy. He's just as hard to control as I apparently am." I gave a smirk at Jeremy, who just rolled his eyes at me after he controlled himself.

Jenna handed the glass of wine over to Giuseppe, as Jeremy went over to Stefan pulling him up off the couch into a bro-hug. "Stefan!" He exclaimed, happily.

"Jeremy!" Stefan's deep voice rang out. God, Stefan obviously went through puberty faster than Jeremy did. Once out of the hug, Jeremy went over to Damon, who I had managed to keep from looking at this entire time, to shake his hand.

"Damon." My brother said, his tone sharpening dramatically. A dark look flashed across Jeremy's face, but it was quickly replaced by his normal look of excitement.

I just waved at them all, just as Jenna said, "Well, if you guys are hungry, we could start eating now!" Jenna said in a chipper voice, motioning everyone to follow her over to the kitchen. The heels she was wearing clacked against the wooden floor, while we all went over to the oak table in the kitchen and found our spots. Giuseppe and Jenna took the heads of the table, while Stefan and Jeremy took both sides of Giuseppe. I made a mental note to punch Jeremy later for making me sit across from Damon.

As I took my chair, Giuseppe said, "Well, Jenna, I have to say this looks fantastic. I forgot that you could cook!" He laughed. We all grabbed portions of the salad and lasagna Jenna had "made" for dinner. The only thing Giuseppe had forgotten is how Jenna couldn't even pour herself a bowl of cereal without screwing up. I assumed that she just ordered out from one of the Italian restaurants nearby.

"Yes, Aunt Jenna. This food you made is delicious." I smiled at her, as Jeremy laughed beside me. She just rolled her eyes and began making conversation with the rest of the table.

"So, Damon, Stefan. Are you guys going to be going to the high school?" Jenna asked, with her hands folded underneath her chin. My eyes flashed over to Damon, who happened to be watching me with a peculiar look.

Instead of looking away like most would do, he held my gaze, and answered Jenna's question. "Yes, we are, actually." He gave a tiny smirk, about to continue, but was cut off by Giuseppe.

"They're starting on Monday, along with everyone else. I want them to have a fresh start, like everyone else." He said pointedly at Damon, whose smirk had disappeared instantly when his father started talking.

The rest of dinner passed, with few words from both Damon and me. I had learned that Giuseppe is transferring to Mystic Falls Hospital as their head doctor. He apparently hadn't enjoyed Chicago as much as he'd hoped. Stefan had picked up football, and had been quarterback for his team, while Damon had quit sophomore year, oddly. Stefan had become top of his class, while his brother had gotten himself into trouble from underage drinking and the occasionally cheating on tests. Nothing I hadn't done, but I felt as if Giuseppe was skipping most of the details of Damon's sketchy history. His voice would tighten whenever he mentioned Damon's name, something I also wasn't prepared for. I always remembered them having a good relationship.

Sometime after we had all finished eating, my cellphone had begun to blast the Jaws theme song, which Bonnie, Jeremy and I changed this morning for when Katherine were to call. I turned tomato red, pressing the ignore button, quickly.

"Sorry." I said, ignoring the snickers from the table. I looked up to find Damon laughing, which gave me the uncontrollable urge to smile, so I did. Looking into his eyes at that moment, it felt as if I was looking back in time, back to when he and I were sitting under the old oak tree promising each other that we would visit each other all the time. I felt a connection that I only had ever felt with Damon rise. Watching his face light into a genuine smile, made me curious as to why I had been so against this day earlier.

That is until I heard my front door fling wide open. A few seconds later, I heard Katherine yelled out my name.

"Elena? What is this about you bailing on us tonight?" She sang, walking into the kitchen, followed by Caroline and a seemingly frazzled Bonnie.

"Sorry." Bonnie mouthed at me. I watched as Caroline and Katherine stopped mid-tack and looked at the scene they had just walked into.

"Oh. I didn't know I was interrupting anything. I just came to get Elena, so we could go to the Grill." She said, hands instantly going to her hips.

Jenna stood up, "It's okay, Katherine. We were just finishing actually." She began to grab all of our plates, so I got up and helped her. Once we put the food in the sink, I turned around and looked at Damon, about to invite him out with us, but once I saw the death glare he was currently giving me, I decided against it. He obviously hadn't felt the re-connection I had just moments ago.

I waved everyone good-bye and rushed out the door, Katherine, Caroline and Bonnie at my heels. Once I heard the door shut behind us, I let out a deep breathe I didn't know I was holding. I felt… different. Like I was forgetting something… or someone. I honestly wanted to bring Damon with, but after the look he had given me, I didn't think he'd accept. Knowing that he wouldn't enjoy hanging out with me, even after all these years of not seeing each other, and that he probably wouldn't want to hang out with me _at all_, gave me a strange sensation, I couldn't place.

But as Caroline and Katherine began gushing about how sexy Damon and Stefan were, I had registered it: Heart broken. Just like I had been when he left me.

_**A/N: Whew! A whole seven pages! I realized that I had used the phrase "in the past four years" quite a lot, but I couldn't help it. It made everything much more dramatic. Anyways, I hoped you enjoyed it, and I promise to update soon! I know Elena is kind of… well conceded, but bear with me! She needs to be this way for a while, but don't worry! She will change! Until she does, however, PLEASE REVIEW!**_


	5. authors note

Authors Note

Well… hi, guys! So, first off, I want to apologize. I sort of completely put off writing this story for so long that I forgot about it. It's been like… 2 ½ years? Jesus, I am so sorry. Funny thing is, someone just reviewed the story and it was sent to my email, so the only reason I'm here writing this is because I wanted to refresh my memory and reread the story. After I read it, I kind of missed the plot, so I've decided that, since my writing style has changed so much in the past couple of years (and by changed I mean, I finally learned how to use spell check, honestly, what was I even thinking when I posted those chapters) I'm going to go over the chapters I have already written and rewrite them. Then when I finish doing that, I'm going to continue the story. Now, I don't know how often I'm going to update, hopefully I won't get into another 2 year hiatus, but I'm about to go into my senior year, and I might need to push this aside. But I'm going to try and sit my ass down and write this story. Anyways, thank you to the anonymous reviewer, and hopefully someone cares enough to actually continue with this story.

Keep it real guys,

briA135

p.s. I'm probably going to repost this to AO3 as well, but I'll get all that information to you guys later.


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